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US10934046B2 - Vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine and conveying and labeling method for vacuum blood collection tube - Google Patents

Vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine and conveying and labeling method for vacuum blood collection tube Download PDF

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Publication number
US10934046B2
US10934046B2 US15/774,009 US201715774009A US10934046B2 US 10934046 B2 US10934046 B2 US 10934046B2 US 201715774009 A US201715774009 A US 201715774009A US 10934046 B2 US10934046 B2 US 10934046B2
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United States
Prior art keywords
blood collection
collection tube
vacuum blood
loading
grabbing
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US15/774,009
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US20180370670A1 (en
Inventor
Quan Sha
Jian Sun
Lele Fan
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Shanghai Chuangsijie Medical Technology Co Ltd
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Shanghai Chuangsijie Medical Technology Co Ltd
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Priority claimed from CN201610118864.2A external-priority patent/CN107150837B/zh
Priority claimed from CN201620270575.XU external-priority patent/CN205554831U/zh
Priority claimed from CN201620680613.9U external-priority patent/CN205837984U/zh
Application filed by Shanghai Chuangsijie Medical Technology Co Ltd filed Critical Shanghai Chuangsijie Medical Technology Co Ltd
Assigned to SHANGHAI CHUANGSIJIE MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. reassignment SHANGHAI CHUANGSIJIE MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: SHA, Quan, FAN, Lele, SUN, JIAN
Publication of US20180370670A1 publication Critical patent/US20180370670A1/en
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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65C—LABELLING OR TAGGING MACHINES, APPARATUS, OR PROCESSES
    • B65C9/00—Details of labelling machines or apparatus
    • B65C9/02—Devices for moving articles, e.g. containers, past labelling station
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65C—LABELLING OR TAGGING MACHINES, APPARATUS, OR PROCESSES
    • B65C3/00—Labelling other than flat surfaces
    • B65C3/06—Affixing labels to short rigid containers
    • B65C3/08—Affixing labels to short rigid containers to container bodies
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01L—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE
    • B01L3/00—Containers or dishes for laboratory use, e.g. laboratory glassware; Droppers
    • B01L3/50—Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes
    • B01L3/508—Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes rigid containers not provided for above
    • B01L3/5082—Test tubes per se
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01L—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE
    • B01L3/00—Containers or dishes for laboratory use, e.g. laboratory glassware; Droppers
    • B01L3/54—Labware with identification means
    • B01L3/545—Labware with identification means for laboratory containers
    • B01L3/5453—Labware with identification means for laboratory containers for test tubes
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65C—LABELLING OR TAGGING MACHINES, APPARATUS, OR PROCESSES
    • B65C9/00—Details of labelling machines or apparatus
    • B65C9/26—Devices for applying labels
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65C—LABELLING OR TAGGING MACHINES, APPARATUS, OR PROCESSES
    • B65C9/00—Details of labelling machines or apparatus
    • B65C9/40—Controls; Safety devices
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65C—LABELLING OR TAGGING MACHINES, APPARATUS, OR PROCESSES
    • B65C9/00—Details of labelling machines or apparatus
    • B65C9/46—Applying date marks, code marks, or the like, to the label during labelling
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G47/00—Article or material-handling devices associated with conveyors; Methods employing such devices
    • B65G47/74—Feeding, transfer, or discharging devices of particular kinds or types
    • B65G47/90—Devices for picking-up and depositing articles or materials
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16H—GEARING
    • F16H1/00—Toothed gearings for conveying rotary motion
    • F16H1/02—Toothed gearings for conveying rotary motion without gears having orbital motion
    • F16H1/04—Toothed gearings for conveying rotary motion without gears having orbital motion involving only two intermeshing members
    • F16H1/12—Toothed gearings for conveying rotary motion without gears having orbital motion involving only two intermeshing members with non-parallel axes
    • F16H1/16—Toothed gearings for conveying rotary motion without gears having orbital motion involving only two intermeshing members with non-parallel axes comprising worm and worm-wheel
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16H—GEARING
    • F16H19/00—Gearings comprising essentially only toothed gears or friction members and not capable of conveying indefinitely-continuing rotary motion
    • F16H19/02—Gearings comprising essentially only toothed gears or friction members and not capable of conveying indefinitely-continuing rotary motion for interconverting rotary or oscillating motion and reciprocating motion
    • F16H19/04—Gearings comprising essentially only toothed gears or friction members and not capable of conveying indefinitely-continuing rotary motion for interconverting rotary or oscillating motion and reciprocating motion comprising a rack
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N35/00—Automatic analysis not limited to methods or materials provided for in any single one of groups G01N1/00 - G01N33/00; Handling materials therefor
    • G01N35/00584—Control arrangements for automatic analysers
    • G01N35/00722—Communications; Identification
    • G01N35/00732—Identification of carriers, materials or components in automatic analysers
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N35/00—Automatic analysis not limited to methods or materials provided for in any single one of groups G01N1/00 - G01N33/00; Handling materials therefor
    • G01N35/0099—Automatic analysis not limited to methods or materials provided for in any single one of groups G01N1/00 - G01N33/00; Handling materials therefor comprising robots or similar manipulators
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01L—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE
    • B01L2300/00—Additional constructional details
    • B01L2300/02—Identification, exchange or storage of information
    • B01L2300/021—Identification, e.g. bar codes
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01L—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE
    • B01L2300/00—Additional constructional details
    • B01L2300/06—Auxiliary integrated devices, integrated components
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01L—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE
    • B01L2300/00—Additional constructional details
    • B01L2300/08—Geometry, shape and general structure
    • B01L2300/0832—Geometry, shape and general structure cylindrical, tube shaped
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N35/00—Automatic analysis not limited to methods or materials provided for in any single one of groups G01N1/00 - G01N33/00; Handling materials therefor
    • G01N35/00584—Control arrangements for automatic analysers
    • G01N35/00722—Communications; Identification
    • G01N35/00732—Identification of carriers, materials or components in automatic analysers
    • G01N2035/00861—Identification of carriers, materials or components in automatic analysers printing and sticking of identifiers

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to technical field of vacuum blood collection tube printing and labeling, and in particular, to a vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine and a conveying and labeling method for a vacuum blood collection tube.
  • a paper label including information such as the name, a barcode, and blood test items of a patient needs to be labeled on the vacuum blood collection tube.
  • the manual labeling method wastes time and energy and has poor sticking consistency.
  • the inconsistent labeling results in incapability of recognition by a subsequent testing device and a potential risk of medical accidents.
  • vacuum blood collection tubes are arranged and loaded in inclined slideways.
  • the vacuum blood collection tubes directly slide downward to a label printer through a funnel under the force of gravity and a barcode label of a patient is stuck to the vacuum blood collection tube.
  • the second is a drawer-type manner. That is, a vacuum blood collection tube is manually placed in a box in a drawer form, and the box enters a label printer in a mechanical transmission manner to stick a barcode label of a patient.
  • the third is a robotic arm grabbing manner. That is, a vacuum blood collection tube is loaded by a plastic tray originally packaged by a vacuum blood collection tube manufacturer. The entire tray is placed in the automatic labeling machine, and a robotic arm is used to grab the vacuum blood collection tube and move the same to a label printer to stick a barcode label of a patient.
  • the slideway-funnel-type manner has advantages such as a simple structure and low costs.
  • the existing slideway-funnel-type products in the market use a funnel-guide sliding manner to convey a vacuum blood collection tube from an inclined slideway to a printer, it is extremely difficult to control a posture and position of the vacuum blood collection tube during sliding. This results in an uncertain state of the vacuum blood collection tube sliding into the printer. Therefore, faults such as failing to slide and fall in place and tube blockage easily occur.
  • the slideway-funnel-type labeling machine has poor reliability and few slideways, usually fewer than five channels.
  • the robotic arm grabbing manner has advantages such as a high degree of automation, a large loading capacity, and high efficiency and reliably, but has high costs, and the machine is large in volume.
  • advantages such as a high degree of automation, a large loading capacity, and high efficiency and reliably, but has high costs, and the machine is large in volume.
  • maintenance work is complex, and professionals are required for maintenance.
  • large loading capacity such a machine is only applicable to large hospitals with many patients.
  • a vacuum blood collection tube labeling device that has a small volume and labels consistently and reliably is needed.
  • an object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine and a conveying and labeling method for a vacuum blood collection tube for solving a prior-art problem that a vacuum blood collection tube labeling device has high costs and a large volume, or has a small volume but poor reliability.
  • the present invention provides a vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine, comprising: a vacuum blood collection tube loading part, comprising a plurality of loading slideways disposed in parallel, wherein each of the loading slideways comprises an inclined segment and a horizontal segment extending forward from a bottom end of the inclined segment; a label printing part, comprising a label printer and a vacuum blood collection tube output channel connected to the label printer; and a robotic arm used for grabbing and lifting up a vacuum blood collection tube located on the horizontal segment and transferring the vacuum blood collection tube to the label printer, wherein the robotic arm comprises a grabbing mechanism and a movement control assembly for driving the grabbing mechanism.
  • the grabbing mechanism comprises a driving motor, a worm-and-gear mechanism, and two grabbing fingers for grabbing the vacuum blood collection tube, a worm in the worm-and-gear mechanism is connected to the driving motor, and a worm gear in the worm-and-gear mechanism is connected to the two grabbing fingers in a transmission manner.
  • the worm gear is connected to the two grabbing fingers through a rack-and-pinion structure
  • a pinion in the rack-and-pinion structure is coaxially connected to the worm gear and rotates with the worm gear
  • the rack-and-pinion structure comprises two racks
  • the two grabbing fingers are connected to two sliding arms
  • the two sliding arms are respectively disposed on both sides of the pinion
  • one sliding arm is connected to one rack.
  • the two grabbing fingers are both rotationally positioned, a plurality of gear grooves are provided at the circumferential direction of rotational positioning ends of the two grabbing fingers, the gear grooves on the two grabbing fingers are engaged with each other, and one of the two grabbing fingers is coaxially connected to the worm gear and rotates with the worm gear.
  • the grabbing mechanism further comprises a housing for accommodating the worm-and-gear mechanism, the two grabbing fingers extend out from the housing, and the driving motor is fixed on an outer wall of the housing.
  • the vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine further comprises a vacuum blood collection tube lifting rack disposed on one side of the vacuum blood collection tube output channel, the vacuum blood collection tube lifting rack comprises a vacuum blood collection tube tray, an elevator mechanism, and a vacuum blood collection tube outlet disposed at the top of the vacuum blood collection tube lifting rack, and the vacuum blood collection tube tray is connected to the lifting mechanism and moves up and down driven by the lifting mechanism.
  • the vacuum blood collection tube loading part further comprises a loading funnel slidably disposed at the top end of the loading slideway, the loading funnel is capable of sliding in a width direction of all the loading slideways and in a length direction of each loading slideway; and a loading port of the loading funnel is parallel to the loading slideways, a top opening of the loading port is wider than a bottom opening of the loading port, and the width of the bottom opening is greater than the diameter of a cap of a vacuum blood collection tube.
  • a loading funnel slidably disposed at the top end of the loading slideway, the loading funnel is capable of sliding in a width direction of all the loading slideways and in a length direction of each loading slideway; and a loading port of the loading funnel is parallel to the loading slideways, a top opening of the loading port is wider than a bottom opening of the loading port, and the width of the bottom opening is greater than the diameter of a cap of a vacuum blood collection tube.
  • the vacuum blood collection tube loading part further comprises a vacuum blood collection tube fixing plate spanning above the bottom ends of the inclined segments of all the loading slideways.
  • a surface of the vacuum blood collection tube fixing plate is parallel to an inclined surface of the loading slideway, and vacuum blood collection tube fixing grooves in one-to-one correspondence with all the loading slideways are provided on one side of the vacuum blood collection tube fixing plate towards the horizontal segment.
  • a color recognizer for detecting the color of a cap on the vacuum blood collection tube is provided on the grabbing mechanism.
  • the movement control assembly comprises a horizontal guide rail disposed horizontally and a vertical guide rail slidable along the horizontal guide rail, and the grabbing mechanism is slidably disposed on the vertical guide rail.
  • the vacuum blood collection tube output channel is an inclined channel with a tilt angle of 15° to 60°.
  • a tilt angle of the inclined segment of the loading slideway is 10° to 50°.
  • the present invention further provides a conveying and labeling method for a vacuum blood collection tube, comprising the following steps:
  • the grabbing mechanism and the vacuum blood collection tube to be labeled are integrally moved along a horizontal direction, a vertical direction, or a curve track to the label printer.
  • the vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine and the conveying and labeling method for a vacuum blood collection tube according to the present invention have the following beneficial effects: the vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine uses a structure combining the slideway-type vacuum blood collection tube loading part with the robotic arm to arrange and load the vacuum blood collection tubes in the inclined segments and the horizontal segments of the inclined slideways, and the robotic arm moves the vacuum blood collection tube in the horizontal segment to the label printer after grabbing and lifting up the same, so as to print and stick a label of a patient.
  • the present invention has advantages such as low costs, easy operations, and high efficiency and reliability.
  • the present invention is applicable to large, medium, and small hospitals, and in particular, to medium and small hospitals.
  • the vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine may be used in a stand-alone mode, or may be connected in series with a multiple of vacuum blood collection tube labeling machines to cooperate with an intelligent vacuum blood collection management system to connect to a hospital HIS and LIS.
  • the vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine has functions such as full-automatic robotic arm carrying and intelligent edge-tracking labeling.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine according to the present invention.
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of a vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine according to the present invention.
  • FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a third embodiment of a vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine according to the present invention.
  • FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a grabbing mechanism according to the present invention.
  • FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of a grabbing mechanism according to the present invention.
  • FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a vacuum blood collection tube lifting rack according to the present invention.
  • FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a loading funnel according to the present invention.
  • FIG. 8 is a state diagram showing that a grabbing mechanism grabs a blood collection tube according to the present invention.
  • FIG. 9 is a state diagram showing that a grabbing mechanism lifts up a blood collection tube according to the present invention.
  • FIG. 10 is a state diagram showing that a grabbing mechanism moves a blood collection tube to a label printer according to the present invention.
  • FIG. 11 is a state diagram showing that a grabbing mechanism places a blood collection tube to a printing position according to the present invention.
  • FIG. 12 is a diagram of output state of a labeled blood collection tube according to the present invention.
  • the present invention provides a vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine, comprising: a loading part 1 of a vacuum blood collection tube, comprising a plurality of loading slideways 11 disposed in parallel, wherein each of the loading slideways 11 comprises an inclined segment 111 and a horizontal segment 110 extending forward from a bottom end of the inclined segment; a label printing part, comprising a label printer 6 and an output channel 9 of the vacuum blood collection tube connected to the label printer; and a robotic arm, used for grabbing and lifting up a vacuum blood collection tube 2 located on the horizontal segment 110 and transferring the vacuum blood collection tube 2 to the label printer 6 , wherein the robotic arm comprises a grabbing mechanism 4 and a movement control assembly for driving the grabbing mechanism.
  • a structure combining the slideway-type loading part 1 of the vacuum blood collection tube with the robotic arm is used to arrange and load vacuum blood collection tubes 2 in the inclined segments 111 and the horizontal segments 110 .
  • the vacuum blood collection tube 2 automatically slides down along the loading slideway.
  • the robotic arm grabs and lifts up the vacuum blood collection tube 2 in the horizontal segment to the label printer 6 so as to print and stick a patient label.
  • the present invention has advantages such as low costs, easy operations, and high efficiency and reliability.
  • the vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 may be placed on a table.
  • a labeled vacuum blood collection tube 2 is directly output through the output channel 9 of the vacuum blood collection tube and is picked up and used by medical staff.
  • a test tube box 10 is placed on one side of the output channel 9 of the vacuum blood collection tube, and the labeled vacuum blood collection tubes are collected into the test tube box 10 for ease of carrying and use.
  • the output channel 9 of the vacuum blood collection tube is an inclined channel. As shown in FIG. 3 , a tilt angle of the inclined channel is 15° to 60°.
  • the vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine further comprises a lifting frame 8 of vacuum blood collection tube disposed on one side of the output channel of the vacuum blood collection tube.
  • the lifting frame 8 of the vacuum blood collection tube comprises a tray 86 of the vacuum blood collection tube, a lifting mechanism, and an output port 82 of the vacuum blood collection tube disposed at the top of the lifting frame 8 of the vacuum blood collection tube.
  • the tray 86 of the vacuum blood collection tube is used for receiving a labeled vacuum blood collection tube output by the output channel 9 of the vacuum blood collection tube, is connected to the lifting mechanism, and moves up and down driven by the lifting mechanism.
  • the lifting mechanism comprises a lifting driving mechanism 83 , a vertical guide rod 84 , and a slide rest 85 slidably disposed on the vertical guide rod.
  • the tray 86 of the vacuum blood collection tube is disposed on the slide rest 85
  • the lifting driving mechanism 83 is connected to the slide rest 85 to drive the slide rest 85 to slide up and down along the vertical guide rod 84 , so as to lift the vacuum blood collection tube up and down for transmission.
  • the lifting driving mechanism 83 uses a structure combining a driving motor and a timing belt and pulley.
  • the lifting mechanism according to the present invention may alternatively be another mechanism that can implement lifting the tray of the vacuum blood collection tube up and down, for example, a lifting cylinder, which is not described in detail herein.
  • a catch tray 81 of the vacuum blood collection tube may further be disposed below the output port 82 of the vacuum blood collection tube and on an outer side wall of the lifting frame 8 of the vacuum blood collection tube according to this embodiment.
  • the vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine shown in FIG. 2 can further lift up a labeled vacuum blood collection tube to a required position as needed, so that the vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine according to this embodiment may be adapted to being mounted in a low position.
  • the loading part 1 of the vacuum blood collection tube further comprises a loading funnel 13 slidably disposed at the top end of the loading slideway.
  • the loading funnel 13 is capable of sliding in a width direction of all the loading slideways 11 and in a length direction of each loading slideway 11 .
  • a loading port 131 of the loading funnel 13 is parallel to the loading slideways 11 , a top opening of the loading port 131 is wider than a bottom opening of the loading port, and the width of the bottom opening is greater than the diameter of a cap of a vacuum blood collection tube. In this case, it is convenient to place the vacuum blood collection tube in the loading slideway. Regardless of manners of loading the vacuum blood collection tube, when the vacuum blood collection tube falls into the loading slideway through the loading funnel, the vacuum blood collection tube is in an erect posture. That is, the cap of the vacuum blood collection tube faces upward.
  • the loading part 1 of the vacuum blood collection tube further comprises a locating plate 12 of the vacuum blood collection tube spanning above the bottom ends of the inclined segments of all the loading slideways 11 .
  • the vacuum blood collection tube fixing plate may assist in fixing each vacuum blood collection tube.
  • the spatial distance between the locating plate 12 of the vacuum blood collection tube and a top end of the cap of the vacuum blood collection tube in the loading slideway 11 is 0.5 mm to 20 mm.
  • the locating plate 12 of the vacuum blood collection tube may control the second vacuum blood collection tube not to be lifted, so as to implement a function of fixing the second vacuum blood collection tube.
  • a surface of the vacuum blood collection tube fixing plate 12 is parallel to an inclined surface of the loading slideway, and one side of the locating plate of the vacuum blood collection tube facing the horizontal segment 110 has locating slots 121 of the vacuum blood collection tube in one-to-one correspondence with all the loading slideways.
  • the locating plate 12 of vacuum blood collection tube is used to assist in fixing vacuum blood collection tubes 2 at tail ends of the loading slideways, so as to better assist the robotic arm in grabbing the vacuum blood collection tubes.
  • each loading slideway may load 20 to 100 test tubes.
  • a tilt angle of the inclined segment of the loading slideway is 10° to 50°.
  • the vacuum blood collection tube in the inclined segment of the loading slideway 11 automatically slides down to the horizontal segment using the gravity of the vacuum blood collection tube.
  • the vacuum blood collection tube proactively adjusts to a straight posture in advance.
  • the locating plate 12 of the vacuum blood collection tube may be used to assist in fixing the vacuum blood collection tube for grabbing by the robotic arm.
  • the vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine may fix the second vacuum blood collection tube at the tail end by using the locating mechanism 7 of the vacuum blood collection tube and the locating plate 12 of the vacuum blood collection tube at the same time, to improve the accuracy of grabbing by the grabbing mechanism, and ensure that the remaining vacuum blood collection tubes can automatically slide down along the loading slideway and be in a normally standing posture after the first vacuum blood collection tube is grabbed away.
  • the grabbing mechanism 4 may be provided with a color recognizer for recognizing the color of a cap of a vacuum blood collection tube 2 .
  • the color recognizer may use a multi-channel (2 to 8) color sensor.
  • the multi-channel color sensor can intelligently recognize the color of a cap of a vacuum blood collection tube within its measuring range, and send a digital signal received after the recognition to a main controller for controlling the vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine for processing, to finally determine different colors of the vacuum blood collection tubes. Because different colors correspond to different items, a required vacuum blood collection tube can be intelligently grabbed in advance.
  • the movement control assembly in the present invention comprises a horizontal guide rail 5 disposed horizontally and a vertical guide rail 3 slidable along the horizontal guide rail 5 , and the grabbing mechanism 4 is slidably disposed on the vertical guide rail 3 .
  • the grabbing mechanism can move horizontally or be lifted up and down, so that the grabbing mechanism can transfer a grabbed vacuum blood collection tube 2 to the label printer 6 .
  • the movement control assembly according to the present invention may alternatively comprise another three-dimensional movement mechanism as long as the following functions are implemented.
  • the grabbing mechanism lifts up a vacuum blood collection tube located at the horizontal segment and grabs the vacuum blood collection tube to the label printer along a horizontal direction, a vertical direction, or a curve track.
  • the robotic arm may be implemented by using movement mechanisms such as a rack-and-pinion mechanism, a timing belt-and-pulley mechanism, a ball screw mechanism, and a screw-rod drive mechanism.
  • the label printer 6 in the present invention can perform intelligently edge-tracking labeling.
  • the label printer 6 intelligently prints patient information according to an LIS or HIS instruction sent by a hospital system, sticks a label, checks whether a printed barcode is consistent with the LIS or HIS instruction sent by the hospital system, and automatically outputs a tube.
  • the label printer 6 may print 1 or 16 tubes at a time (or print fewer than 100 tubes at a time as needed).
  • Both the loading part 1 of the vacuum blood collection tube and the label printing part according to the present invention are disposed on a supporting frame 14 , as shown in FIG. 1 , and the label printing part is disposed on one side of the loading part 1 of the vacuum blood collection tube.
  • the vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine can serve as a whole to fix main components on the supporting frame for ease of moving and use, making the volume of the vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine according to the present invention small and applicable to various hospitals.
  • the grabbing mechanism 4 comprises a driving motor 42 , a worm-and-gear mechanism, and two grabbing fingers 41 for grabbing a vacuum blood collection tube, a worm 44 in the worm-and-gear mechanism is connected to the driving motor 42 , and a worm gear 43 in the worm-and-gear mechanism is connected to the two grabbing fingers 41 in a transmission manner.
  • the grabbing mechanism uses the driving motor 42 to drive, by using the worm-and-gear mechanism, the two grabbing fingers 41 to move, so as to complete grabbing and placing of the vacuum blood collection tubes, and uses the worm-and-gear mechanism to enlarge output power of the driving motor 42 to increase a clamping force of the two grabbing fingers 41 .
  • the grabbing fingers 41 may perform slide-proof eight-point clamping, parallel, or hinged grabbing.
  • FIG. 4 shows a specific embodiment of the grabbing mechanism.
  • the worm gear 43 is connected to the two grabbing fingers 41 by a rack-and-pinion structure, and a pinion 46 in the rack-and-pinion structure is coaxially connected to the worm gear 43 and rotates with the worm gear 43 .
  • the rack-and-pinion structure comprises two racks 47 , the two grabbing fingers 41 are connected to two sliding arms 45 , the two sliding arms 45 are respectively disposed on two sides of the pinions 46 , and one sliding arm 45 is connected to one rack 47 .
  • the sliding arms 45 are both slidably disposed on a sliding rail 48 .
  • the two racks 47 in the rack-and-pinion structure are disposed between the two sliding arms 45 and are respectively connected to the two sliding arms 45 .
  • the rack-and-pinion structure is used to implement drive-connection between the worm gear 43 and the two grabbing fingers 41 .
  • the driving motor 42 is a stepper motor. The stepper motor rotates forward to drive the worm-and-gear mechanism and a rack-and-pinion mechanism to move, so that the two grabbing fingers 41 connected to the sliding arms 45 move toward each other to implement an action of grabbing a vacuum blood collection tube.
  • the stepper motor rotates backward to drive the worm-and-gear mechanism and a rack-and-pinion structure to move, so that the two grabbing fingers 41 connected to the sliding arms 45 move away from each other and implement an action of releasing and placing the vacuum blood collection tube.
  • FIG. 5 shows another specific embodiment of the grabbing mechanism.
  • the two grabbing fingers are of a fulcrum rotation open/closed type.
  • the two grabbing fingers 41 are both rotationally positioned, a plurality of gear slots 49 are provided at the circumferential direction of rotational positioning ends of the two grabbing fingers 41 .
  • the gear slots 49 on the two grabbing fingers 41 are engaged with each other, and one of the two grabbing fingers 41 is coaxially connected to the worm gear 43 and rotates with the worm gear 43 .
  • the driving motor according to this embodiment may alternatively be a stepper motor.
  • the two grabbing fingers 41 are rotationally positioned and engaged with each other by using gear slots 49 .
  • the worm gear 43 and one of the grabbing fingers 41 are coaxially disposed.
  • the stepper motor rotates forward, the worm gear rotates to drive the coaxial grabbing finger 41 to rotate, so that the two grabbing fingers firmly clamp a vacuum blood collection tube to implement an action of grabbing the vacuum blood collection tube.
  • the stepper motor rotates backward, and the worm gear rotates to drive the coaxial grabbing finger 41 to rotate, so that the two grabbing fingers 41 release a vacuum blood collection tube to implement an action of placing the vacuum blood collection tube.
  • the grabbing mechanism 4 further comprises a housing for accommodating the worm-and-gear mechanism (not shown).
  • the two grabbing fingers 41 extend out from the housing and the driving motor 42 is fixed on an outer wall of the housing to enable the entire grabbing mechanism 5 to become a whole assembly.
  • the driving motor is connected to a controller in the vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine.
  • a specific working process of the vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine according to the present invention is as follows:
  • the grabbing mechanism 4 moves to a specified position and prepares for an action. As shown in FIG. 8 , the grabbing mechanism according to this embodiment moves to the grabbing position in an arrow direction in FIG. 8 , and the two grabbing fingers in the grabbing mechanism 4 clamp a vacuum blood collection tube 2 .
  • the grabbing mechanism performs a lifting movement driven by the movement control assembly. As shown in FIG. 9 , the grabbing mechanism 4 and the vacuum blood collection tube 2 clamped by the grabbing fingers 41 are integrally lifted to a certain height, and in this embodiment, an upward arrow in FIG. 9 is a lifting direction of the grabbing mechanism.
  • the movement control assembly drives the grabbing mechanism 4 and the vacuum blood collection tube 2 to translate to the label printer 6 , and a horizontal arrow in FIG.
  • FIG. 9 is a moving direction in which the grabbing mechanism 4 and the vacuum blood collection tube 2 move to the label printer 6 .
  • the grabbing mechanism 4 moves down in an arrow direction in FIG. 10 driven by the movement control assembly until it places the vacuum blood collection tube 2 between swing arms 61 of the label printer 6 .
  • the vacuum blood collection tube 2 is clamped by the swing arms 61 .
  • An arrow direction in FIG. 11 is an action direction in which the swing arms clamp the vacuum blood collection tube 2 .
  • the grabbing mechanism 4 releases the vacuum blood collection tube 2 and returns to an initial position.
  • the label printer 6 begins to perform label printing on the vacuum blood collection tube 2 . After completing labeling, the swing arms open to release the vacuum blood collection tube. As shown in FIG.
  • an arrow direction in FIG. 12 is a direction in which the swing arms release the vacuum blood collection tube.
  • the labeled vacuum blood collection tube 2 slides out of the vacuum blood collection tube output channel 9 . In this way, grabbing, conveying, label printing, and outputting of a vacuum blood collection tube are completed.
  • the present invention further provides a conveying and labeling method for a vacuum blood collection tube.
  • the method may be implemented by using the foregoing vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine according to the present invention. That is, a specific working process of the vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine shown in FIG. 8 to FIG. 12 specifically comprises the following steps:
  • the vacuum blood collection tube sliding from an inclined segment of a loading slideway to a horizontal segment of the loading slideway when being loaded;
  • Integrally moving the grabbing mechanism and the vacuum blood collection tube to be labeled to a label printer Integrally moving the grabbing mechanism and the vacuum blood collection tube to be labeled to a label printer, wherein the grabbing mechanism and the vacuum blood collection tube to be labeled integrally move, driven by a movement control assembly, along a horizontal direction, a vertical direction, or a curve track to the label printer;
  • the vacuum blood collection tube to be labeled into the label printer to complete label printing, wherein the labeled vacuum blood collection tube is output from the vacuum blood collection tube output channel.
  • the vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine uses a structure combining the slideway-type loading part of the vacuum blood collection tube with the robotic arm to arrange and load vacuum blood collection tubes in the inclined segments and the horizontal segments of the inclined slideways, and the robotic arm moves the vacuum blood collection tube in the horizontal segment to the label printer after grabbing and lifting up the same, so as to print and stick a patient label.
  • the present invention has advantages such as low costs, easy operations, and high efficiency and reliability. Therefore, the present invention effectively overcomes various disadvantages in the prior art and has high industrial utility value.

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  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
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  • Measurement Of The Respiration, Hearing Ability, Form, And Blood Characteristics Of Living Organisms (AREA)
US15/774,009 2016-03-02 2017-03-01 Vacuum blood collection tube labeling machine and conveying and labeling method for vacuum blood collection tube Active 2037-06-01 US10934046B2 (en)

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CN201610118864.2 2016-03-02
CN201610118864.2A CN107150837B (zh) 2016-03-02 2016-03-02 真空采血管贴标机
CN201620270575.X 2016-04-01
CN201620270575.XU CN205554831U (zh) 2016-04-01 2016-04-01 真空采血管自动贴标装置
CN201620680613.9 2016-06-30
CN201620680613.9U CN205837984U (zh) 2016-06-30 2016-06-30 抓取采血管的机械手装置及采血管输送装置
PCT/CN2017/075340 WO2017148392A1 (zh) 2016-03-02 2017-03-01 真空采血管贴标机及真空采血管输送及贴标方法

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EP3424831A4 (en) 2020-01-08
EP3424831A1 (en) 2019-01-09
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WO2017148392A1 (zh) 2017-09-08
KR20180051610A (ko) 2018-05-16

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